Bab 8: CH 6: Duels and Disappointment
"Are we there I yet?" I asked for the twenty-third time since we left port. Serena clenched her fist in annoyance at my childish antics.
"Maybe we would be if someone hadn't single handed decided that our ship should overly simplified to save on construction time!" She gave me a nasty side glare, which I found pretty cute.
"I know you're stressed with the responsibilities of being the operation leader, but that's no reason to take it out on me." I responded with a shake of my finger.
"No, I'm irritated that you find joy in irking me in the most juvenile ways conceivable." Her fingers tightening around the arms of her captain's chair.
I smiled. "Not the most irritating ways, I still haven't brought out the the batman voice yet. For you though, I definitely could. WHERE IS SHE!" I sidestepped just as an empty coffee mug flew right were my head was a fraction of a second earlier.
"Ah don't be like that babe! You know I'm just having a little fun." I said while making puppy dog eyes. Serena just rolled her eyes, before shaking her head in disappointment. No matter how valiant the attempt, its not very easy to look cute when you're 6 ft 1in (185.4 cm) and 256 lbs (116 kgs). At least I got Iris to laugh at my usual stupidity.
"Since you have so much time to bother me, why don't go check to make sure your knight armor is ready. I need you to be able to deploy at a moments notice after all." She said with a faux scowl, but I definitely saw a smile in there.
"Aye aye cap'n." I said with a lazy salute and walked away. Just before entering the elevator, I turned around and called out to Irisdina. "Yo Iris! Care to join me?" I said with a cheesy wink.
I heard a light chuckle before she left the terminal she was working, and walked towards me. "Ah, why not. I could use a break," she looked back at Serena. "Call me if anything comes up, Ja?"
Serena rolled her eyes while wearing a small smile. "Even you would leave me Iris? Very well, I suppose I'm destined to toil alone!" She pretended to cry, but it was hard to feel bad for her when the chair she was in was made from soft velvet, had temperature control, and an integrated sonic massager.
Iris and I walked through the ship's interior arm-in-arm, our boots echoing slightly off the faux-birch vinyl flooring. The conditioned air smelling ever so slightly of cherry blossoms, on account of the air freshener used to cover up the hospital-like smell the ship had when it was first built. As we walked down the white hallways, decorated with ever-changing holographic picture screens, we would occasionally pass by BRD-01 Spectre units disappearing down the unfinished hallways that were previously hidden from the guild employees by temporary sound proof walls. They carried a variety of tools and materials from the ship's factory unit to their designated work zones. Each unit had MAPW-1 electromagnetic rifle on their back, which could fire a 10mm (0.39 in) slug at a variety of different velocities depending on the situation.
We made it down to the hanger bay underneath the command tower in just a few short minutes. The hanger was a bit smaller than one would think considering the size of the vessel, only 25m (82.02 ft) wide, 75m (246.06 ft) long, and 10m (32.81 ft) tall. In total the hanger could house twelve mid-sized armors, on account of the downward slanted dorsal hull armor.
Beatrix was already there, relaxing in a chair next her Strike Noir Custom (Gundam: SEED). The machine stood proud at 6.5 M (21.33 ft) tall, sporting its classic black, grey, and red color scheme. The original's laser blades were replaced with a pair of vibro-blades. On the hips were a pair of 25MM (0.98 in) M1 assault cannons, based off of the AMWS-21 used by American TSFs (Muv-Luv: Alternative). These bullpup cannons utilized a rear-mounted box magazine that held 75 rounds. Each one mounted a semi automatic grenade launcher, firing a 50 mm (1.97 in) elongated low-velocity shell, fed via ten-round box magazines.
Each wing housed a high-velocity 30mm (1.18 in) autocannon, instead of the original's twin railguns. The six rocket anchors were replaced with one larger version mounted on each arm. The suit's biggest change from the original design were the feet, which each boasted four pneumatic talons that could allow the machine to hang upside down...or pierce right through an enemy's cockpit. I shuddered, as I remembered how several of our simulator duels ended that way.
Next to Beatrix's black murder machine, stood Iris's Cherudim Gundam SAGA custom (Mobile Suit Gundam 00V). Iris's chosen color scheme was almost the same as the GBF variant, light-grey and white, with some sky blue accents. The primary weapon was a 60mm (2.36 in) chem-rail sniper rifle. That thing was designed to blow a hole clean through any known armor, that include known demonic armors. I guess that shouldn't be too surprising, since the 5.5 kg (12.13 lb) round travels over 3,500 M/s (11482.94 ft/s). If that wasn't scary enough, Iris has twenty rounds per magazine, so good luck waiting for her to run out.
For close-quarter-combat there are a pair M1 assault cannons, just like Beatrix's Strike Noir. For even more firepower, its got a pair of PMA-1a (Pistol Magnetic Accelerator) 40mm (1.57 in) coil-gun pistols. I really hated how good she was with those stupid pistols, like the gundam version of Annie Oakley. Finally, the unit had a vibro-gladius mounted on either side of the backpack.
"Leon," Iris said while I was admiring her machine. I turned only to find a teasing smile gracing her gorgeous lips. "Care for a spar?"
I stroked my chin like some kind of wise-man. "I suppose I could be convinced, if the conditions are good enough." I said with a waggle of my eyebrows. We both started at each other for a couple of seconds before bursting into laughter.
"Pffft! what the hell was that?! Please tell me you weren't trying to be sexy!" She struggled to eek out a coherent statement amidst her laughter.
I just chuckled. "What's wrong with my facial expressions, huh, Iris?"
"You looked absolutely ridiculous, that's what. Well, I guess its a good thing your handsome then."
"Geez thanks. I'm so glad that you like my looks and absolutely nothing else. It really makes a guy feel loved." I said while wiping away an imaginary tear.
"Oh don't be such a baby. Tell you what, if you can win against me, I'll wear that maid outfit to bed tonight."
I froze as images of her dressed in a slutty maid outfit filled my brain. This caused my monkey-brain to go into overdrive.
"You're on." I turned and scrambled my way into a simulator unit, more motivated to win than ever before. I booted up the simulator, saw Iris's unit connected to our local network, and invited her to a simulated match. A couple seconds later I was allowed to select my ammunition loadout. Keeping the standard APHE rounds for my 40MM MWS-1 (Modular Weapon System) assault cannon, I loaded a combination of smoke and programable proximity rounds in my shield's 60mm (2.36 in) autocannon.
The cockpit screen went black before a five second countdown appeared in blue. Five...I stretched my fingers...Four...I cracked my knuckles...three...I cracked my neck...two...I tightened my grip on the joysticks...one...the screen changed to show a simulated coniferous forest, filled with massive trees with a sparse underbrush.
I started creeping forward, using the enhanced sensor on my machine's right shoulder to try and locate Iris's machine. I held an advantage within the forest thanks to my machine's improved sensor unit, plus the green, grey, and light brown color scheme blended into the forest far better than hers did. Sadly, I still wasn't that confident in my chances against her. Iris's sniper rifle could go through a couple of these massive trees, and still take out my machine. That's not even mentioning her years of piloting experience, where she had to dodge lasers with only a fraction of a second to do so. The only real advantage I had was my enhanced reaction speed, courtesy of my Master Chief template.
As I crept through the woods, I used my units head-mounted visual sensors to scan the forest for anything out of place. Luxion managed to program an incredibly realistic environment, from the ferns swaying in the breeze, to light rays peeking through the canopy, it was absolutely beautiful. I felt like I was a giant walking through Redwood State Park in California.
Twelve minutes after the duel began, my sensors finally picked up a faint heat signature at the edge of their range, north-east of my position. Checking a 3D map of the area I realized that Iris was staking out on the slopes of a small rocky mountain range, giving her excellent line of sight, and allowed her grey machine to better camouflage itself.
I started circling around her suspected location, moving towards the mountain. If I was lucky I would crawl along the mountain and get a shot off from behind her. My 40mm (1.57 in) assault cannon could take her out in one well placed shot, or damage one of her arms bad enough that she can't use that damn chem-rail anymore.
As I approached the mountain from the north, I was able to make out a pillar of smoke rising from the very heat spot I was tracking, but no electronic signal...I'd been had. I figured that Iris must've used an incendiary round to start some trees on fire as a decoy to lure me in. A pretty basic trap, one that would would only work on those who rely on their sensors to much, and I I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. I just started to pull back, when I detected a heat signature coming from a lake 1.5 km (0.93 miles) to the east. I turned and saw Iris Cherudim gundam rise from the lake, chem-rail aimed right at me. A quick flash, and a round punched a hole clean through my shield and shattered one of my stored vibro-knives. It was only thanks to my enhanced reflexes that I was able to survive.
I activated my reverse thrusters while firing three rounds at her machine. The first round glanced off of her right shoulder pauldron, Iris responded by ducking down causing my next round to go high. The third round flew just right of her head. Iris responded with another round of her own, just barely missing my machine's right arm. I flew into the cover of the trees, just in time to watch a tree in front of me explode, the splinters pounded my cockpit in a hail storm of wood.
I decided that staying at a range wasn't my best option, so I activated my main thrusters and made my way through the forest closing in on Iris's location. My sensors did show her moving back towards the mountain, but her pace indicated that she was taking her time. As I approached the edge of the tree line, I fired off several em-smoke rounds from my shield mounted cannon in a wide arc. These round block line of sight, but also prevented IR and thermal targeting in and out.
I ran into the cloud before skidding and running out the left corner of the cloud. Sadly, Iris had managed to widen the distance between us to over 2.5 km (1.55 miles), but I couldn't do anything about that now. Exiting the cloud, I got lucky as she was scanning the other side of the smoke when I left its cover. I took advantage of this brief window to lock onto her, and fire off all four of my 150mm (5.9 in) missiles at her. In an instant her aimed snapped back to me, but then had to divert her aim to shoot down the missiles screaming towards her.
This wasn't enough to beat her though, as Iris showed why she was commander of East Germany's most elite unit. She instantly used her thrusters to skate backwards, while blowing up two of my missiles with an assault cannon in her left hand. She then destroyed a third with her chem-rail in her right hand. I she must've switched off the magnetic accelerator, so that she could reduce the recoil enough to wield it with only one arm. She dodged the last missile, causing it to come around for another go, but was shredded by a burst from her 25mm assault cannon.
I used my thrusters to skate across the ground while firing off several proximity explosive rounds from my shield-mounted cannon, as well as a steady stream of 40mm APHE round from my own assault cannon. She managed to evade most of my shots in a graceful dance that could only be learned through years of brutal combat. Unfortunately for her, a couple of rounds managed to land true. One round slammed into her chest plate before exploding, leaving the plate deformed and causing her unit to stumble slightly. Another round would impact just below her right shoulder, taking the chem-rail with it! That was only the second time I ever managed to take one of the limbs in a duel! Iris managed to recover in an instant, detaching her chem-rail and returning fire with her assault cannon.
I was forced to slam on RCS thrusters to dodge a burst of high-velocity 25mm penetrators. As I started moving back to capitalize on my range advantage, Iris sent several 50mm grenade from her assault cannons' grenade launchers. Explosions went off all around my machine, rocking the inside of the cockpit. I retaliated in kind with three rounds from my shield-mounted cannon., but Iris just increased her thrust and went airborne to avoid getting caught in the blasts.
She closed the distance on me while taking evasive action, evading my shots by a hair. In return a number of 25mm penetrators would slam into my unit, denting the armor plating in several areas, but not piercing my machine's comparatively thick carapace. One round would miss my head, only to hit my sensor unit, reducing my tracking and detection abilities to her level.
We skated around each other while exchanging fire back and forth. My assault cannon's mag ran dry first, much to my frustration. I ejected the mag, but finding an opening to reload was proving difficult while trying to avoid Iris's mix of high velocity penetrators and sub-sonic grenades. That problem was rendered moot when she managed to put a round clean through my rifle's upper receiver. I dropped the weapon to improve my maneuverability. Without my rifle I was now at a major disadvantage, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and hope that my armor could hold out long enough to finish the job.
When her assault cannon ran dry, I made my move. I was slammed against my seat as I redlined my primary engine, charging at her as fast as my unit could go. I used my remaining cannon rounds to try to keep her from reloading. Her machine was damaged, and she was empty, this was it! Within seconds I was on her, my sword swinging down in a smooth arc, but coming short when Iris surprised me when she blasted the ground beneath us from the grenade launcher I thought was empty. The explosion caused me stumble to my right, rolling before regaining my footing, only to see the barrel of her pistol pointed at my chest from where she landed. Three flashes from he barrel, then screen went black with only two words in red, YOU DIED. Classic Luxion, kicking a man at his lowest.
I groaned in frustration. "Shit." With this my chance to actually get Iris to wear that maid outfit I had Luxion make for her was now gone, and who knows when I would get another chance. As I was about I was about to leave the simulator I heard Serena's voice over the intercom.
"Attention all, this is the captain speaking. We have identified two vessels belonging to our quarry. I shall use the ship's missiles to destroy their propulsion systems, leaving them dead in the sky. In eight minutes all pilots are to launch in your knight armors to eliminate their ship-mounted armaments, and any hostile knight armors. With the path clear, the Virtuous Splendor shall come alongside the hostile vessels and deploy boarding parties. That is all, Serena out."
I heard a the muffled sound of a missile being launched from the sole operational gravity-based missile accelerator mounted right next to the hanger bay, then the whirr of the motor loading the next round, followed by the sound of the second missile being launched. I clenched my fist in a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. Luxion claimed that I exceeded the level of elite knights, so pirates shouldn't be a big issue, but I still felt anxious. No matter how hard tried, I haven't been able to beat Iris or Beatrix even once. I decided that it wasn't worth worrying about, for now I'll just take care of some wannabe clanners, and start building a rep.
I changed into my piloting outfit and scrambled into my cockpit. My machine came to life with the low gravely hum of the primary hydrogen fuel-cell engine. I marched my machine to the middle position on the catapult right between Iris and Beatrix. I heard Beatrix's smoky voice come over the my machine's com. "I hope you're ready darling because Iris and I won't be helping unless you absolutely need it. Don't worry though, these scum should hardly be a challenge for you."
I then heard Iris's gentle yet firm voice. "Leon, I want you to know that we are doing this for your own good. In order to achieve your goals, you must be able to stand on your own. Do you understand?"
I took a few calming breathes before responding to both of them. "Understood."
Silence reigned for a few minutes before the hanger opened and the catapult extended its full length, followed by Serena appearing on our HUDs.
"The enemy vessel's propulsion are disabled, but their weapon systems should be quite operational. Eliminate the defenses, and I shall take care of the rest." She then took a second to gather her thoughts before speaking. "I'm aware that this will be your first combat sortie, but know that I believe in you my love, we all do."
A small smile spread across my face. "I know Serena, I know. I chose this path, now its time for me to me to Cross the Rubicon."
"Very well, you may launch when ready. Best of luck Leon, though I doubt you'll need it." She smiled, before ending the transmission. I had my unit crouch down as I spun up the primary engine.
"Leon Fou Bartfort, Gundam 00 Command Qan[T] launching!"
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AN: Three chapters in a month let's GOOOOO!
So this was the other half other the last chapter that I had to split due to length. The biggest note was the change in speech for Irisdina and Beatrix. I was getting sick of writing their speech in the accented way I previously did, so I decided to replace it with normal speech.
I think that's everything actually. So, if you guys have any questions or ideas, just put them in comments as I love interacting with you guys.
Anyway, I hope you all have a great day!
— Bab baru akan segera rilis — Tulis ulasan
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